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COIN CHARM YOU CAN FLIP

by Hazed

Gallagher's new charm is on sale now, and this month it is a coin with the head of the ex-Emperor Ming on it. As well as clipping it to your keyring, you can flip or toss the coin charm and see whether it comes down heads or tails. Or, maybe, balances on its edge!

It's astonishing how people feel a sort of affectionate nostalgia for Ming, as time has softened the memory of just how awful his regime was. Yes, people know that he was a violent despot, a psychopathic megalomaniac, and had an appalling fashion sense, but the mood today seems to suggest that he wasn't all bad... he may have killed an awful lot of people, but at least he wasn't boring.

I don't think anyone would seriously want Ming, or somebody like him, back in power, but the public has turned him into something of an icon, and his face still sells souvenirs, particularly on Earth which was the seat of his power.

Anton Gallagher announced his new charm by explaining that it was released to commemorate an old Earth holiday, from the days before the human race left its home planet, when the ruler of the most powerful nation was the President of the United States. President's Day celebrates the birthday of the first president of that country.

The Galactic Administration doesn't have a president; it's presided over by a faceless committee of bureaucrats, and even if one of them was first among equals nobody would dream of putting his, her or its head on a coin - hence Anton's somewhat cynical ploy of tying in the Ming souvenir trade with the memory of President's Day.

You can purchase the coin charm with 'BUY COIN' at the cost of one slithy tove. Once you have it in your possession, 'FLIP COIN CHARM' or 'TOSS COIN CHARM' will do the obvious.

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